Montreat C
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Volume IX, Number 7 M'
,,28757 April 2, 2008
Spring Break: Service Driven
Editor’s note: During spring break
in early March, Montreat College
sent two groups of students and staff
on short-term mission trips—one to
Bluefield, West Virginia and another
to San Lucas, Guatemala. The fol
lowing accounts are thoughts from
some of those who participated in and
ministered to others through these
alternative spring break experiences.
West Virginia
Johnny McDowell:
As we stood around in a circle
holding hands, Chaplain Steve
asked us to pray one word that we
wanted to get from this mission
trip. Words ranged from love and
compassion to empathy and friend
ship. It cannot be disputed that
these prayers were all answered. As
we left on February 29 to go to West
Virginia, we were all excited and
apprehensive about what we were
going to do.
Our trip was broken into two
distinct sections: the poverty sirnu-
lation and our service projects. Both
were mentally and physically chal
lenging for most of us twenty some
volunteers, but the second part of
the trip was the harder part for me.
We had our days split into two: in
the mornings we did service projects
and in the afternoons we worked
with the urban kids. Throughout
the week we really did make some
tangible and practical impacts on
the Wade; Center in West Virginia.
Yet for many, it was working with
the children that really made the
trip worthwhile.
Every day after school, the Wade
Center runs a club for the inner city
children, during which we helped
the kids with their homework,
played games (basketball mainly),
and then had dinner with them.
The thing about these kids is that
many face neglect or abuse at home,
and many get dinner at the center
because they are not guaranteed it at
home. This is a real ministry for the
kids. Jacob Owens, Alisha Zaczyk,
Ashleigh Douglas, and I volun
teered to work with the middle
school kids. This was challenging,
to say the least, as these kids would
not listen to us, obey us, or show
any respect for authority in general.
Therefore trying to get these kids
to do homework was a constant
struggle that didn’t get any easier.
The hardest part was knowing that
For you know the grace of our LordJesus Christ, that
though he was rich, yetfor your sakes he became poor,
so that you through his poverty might become rich.
II Corinthians 8:9
we were there to do our best for the
kids, but also knowing that be
cause of their past experiences they
couldn’t trust us. Yet by the end of
the week, the kids had grown fonder
of us and us of them.
We had an eventful week and we
all got something from the experi
ence. Whether it was the humbling
homeless simulation, working with
the kids, or bonding with the group,
it is fair to say we all felt that we re
ally made an impact for God on our
trip. I have to say that, for my first
spring break trip, it was memorable
and impactful, and I am glad I gave
up a suntan for it.
Michael Dechane:
I don’t think of West Virginia as
a hot spot destination for stu
dents on spring break. Most of
the Montreat College students I
work with would agree with me on
this. This year, some spent months
planning trips to beach houses and
faraway parents. Some, in classic
college spirit, didn’t plan much at
all, and simply struck out on a road
trip with friends in a beater car. I
tagged along with 19 students and
the college chaplain for a week at
the Wade Center in Bluefield, WV,
for a spring break unlike anything I
experienced in school.
We drove through the rain after
classes ended, arrived in Bluefield,
and immediately began what our
hosts called a “poverty simulation.”
We knew it was on the agenda, but
none of us knew what it would
entail, which was part of the design.
We learned that the Wade Center
exists to help children, teens, and
young adults through after school
programs and mentoring relation
ships. They work with about 100
students and young adults a week.
Staff at the Wade Center estimate
that less than 10% of their students
have a father at home. According
to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2004
Report, 18.9% of people in Mer
cer County, WV live below the
poverty line, over 6% higher than
the national average that same year.
Driving in, we saw plenty of closed
factories, abandoned buildings, and
subsidized housing in the heart of
the downtown area.
After sobering us up with some
facts, we drove down the road to
the Union Mission Home, which
has been serving the community’s
disadvantaged population for
nearly 80 years now. In the cramped
basement we found piles of newly
donated clothing, for which we
exchanged our own. Back at the
center, we all changed into our new
outfits and, after having most of our
personal possessions (and all our
money) taken away, were given brief
instructions and then locked out of
the building to spend the night. It
was 33 degrees and raining, with a
steady wind that didn’t let up. Most
of us huddled in a stairwell and
tried to sleep. I crawled under a slide
on a playground and couldn’t be
lieve how hard it was to think about
anything except wanting to be warm
and to sleep. At sunrise, seeing all
our students stretched out on scraps
of cardboard laid on the concrete
was a picture I both did, and didn’t,
want to send home to their parents.
Later that morning we walked
to the projects where we met some
of the kids we would be working
with. We played some games, tried
to learn names, and had a lot of fun,
surprisingly. Afterwards we were
split up into groups of three or four
and turned loose on the town with
lists of tasks to complete, including
“collect 100 aluminum cans” and
“eat lunch.” I couldn’t bring myself
to ask somebody for food, or for
money. I decided our group could
forgo lunch, as pride and shame
literally overwhelmed me. An act of
kindness from a woman outside a
McDonald’s floored me. Unasked,
she just stopped her car, motioned
me over, handed me twenty dollars,
and said she “couldn’t stand to see
anybody hungry.” She asked if we
knew where the Salvation Army
was, and told me to buy some lunch
for myself and my “friends.” All I
could think to say was “thank you”
and “God bless you.” While one
of the girls in our group bought
burgers, I walked behind a dump
ster and cried for several minutes,
uncontrollably. It felt like the God
I believe in had spoken direedy to
me through that simple act, and Tm
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